Code: Discovery
by TomRK1089
Summary: My idealized prequelpilot episode. Formerly hosted on the forum, but new and revised! R&R! Discover pairings at your own peril! Flames accepted.
1. Kadic's Finest

23:48 Initialization complete

23:51 Transfer parameters set

23:56 XANA protocol engaged

00:00 Lyoko project online

Kadic College, 09:28

"So, you're an exchange student, right?"

"Yeah. Just arrived from across the Atlantic. I'm Eric Champlain," Eric introduced himself to the blond-haired boy. "What about you?"

"Jeremie Belpois," he replied. "So, ever been in France before?"

"No, never," Eric replied. "First time. Let's hope that Berlitz lives up to its reputation."

Jeremie chuckled. "Well, as you can see, this will be your dorm." Eric looked around at the thick computer manuals and poster of Einstein, to the two beds on opposite sides.

"Seems cozy," he said. "So when does indoctrination begin?"

"Huh?" Jeremie responded, confused.

"You know, where they give you the spiel that 'We're here to help,' and 'Our guidance counselors are always available?'"

"Actually, Kadic takes good care of its inmates—uh, students," said a voice from behind. "We haven't lost one yet."

Eric turned abruptly, searching for the speaker who had sneaked, cat-like, up to the doorway. His first impression of the intruder was purple. That was his second and third impression as well. Even purple hair!

"Agh! Spectrum overload! Too much color!" he cried, throwing his hands over his eyes.

"Oh, it's you, Odd," Jeremie replied calmly. "Come on in and meet Eric." Eric barely managed to stifle a laugh at hearing the name, turning it into an aborted hiccup. "Eric, this is Odd Della Robbia," Jeremie announced formally. "Odd, Eric Champlain."

"Uh, great to meet you," Eric said, crushing his laughter under visions of international incidents. "So, you two are old hands here?"

"Yes, we've been around a while. Ever since fifth grade, in fact. We've got the entire first day routine down to a science by now. That reminds me. Odd, the luggage should have arrived at the front gate by now. Go round up Ulrich and meet us at the front gate."

"Yes, sir, right away, sir," Odd cracked, snapping off a salute and clicking his heels before dashing down the polished linoleum to the other wing of dormitories.

"Is he always like that?" Eric asked. All he got in response from Jeremie, however, was a laugh.

At the front of the school, Eric saw Odd pulling at the handle of an enormous suitcase. He stopped in his tracks. "How did you get here before us?" he queried.

"Oh, there's always a shortcut you can take," said the tall, lanky boy standing next to Odd. "I'm Ulrich Stern. You must be Eric. It's good to meet you."

"Wow, that's the longest sentence he's said all week! He must like you," Odd cracked.

"Unlike you, who we can't get to shut up," Jeremie retorted.

"Ohh! I'm wounded," Odd exclaimed, throwing a hand over his forehead. "Ulrich, Jeremie, you should be ashamed. So, Eric, where are your other bags?"

"Those three brown ones over to your left," he pointed out. "Here, I'll take this one." He gave a short, sharp tug on the handle, releasing it from the mountain of luggage, causing a small avalanche of bags and suitcases. A collective moan rose from the crowd as their stuff was buried by others'. "Oops," Eric said quietly, looking at the mess.

"Now _there's_ the greatest understatement of all time!" Odd cried. "Here, I'll take this one. Ulrich, you and Jeremie grab those other two." Working together, the four managed to drag the bags back to the dorm. As they entered, Eric let out a sigh of relief. Eager to rest the muscles in his arms, he let the bag drop to the floor, bursting open and spilling a collection of books across the floor.

"No wonder that weighed a ton!" Odd yelled. "Wow! There's got to be at least thirty books here!"

"Yeah, this is my month's worth of reading material," Eric explained. "All the greatest science fiction and fantasy. I've got all the best authors: Charles de Lint, Timothy Zahn, Jeff Smith, Pat Murphy…feel free to look through them."

Jeremie sifted through the pile. "Subatomic physics?"

"I'm somewhat well versed on the subject," Eric admitted. Just then, the bell rang, cutting off any chance for further discussion.

"Whoohoo! Opening speech! Long waits! Meets and greets! Let's go, guys!" Odd chirped.

Eric turned to Jeremie. "Does he have a volume control, or maybe an off button?"

Jeremie grinned. "Come on. Time for the 'indoctrination.'"


	2. Freaks and Geeks

Kadic Auditorium, 9:32

"Well, students, I have a few words I'd like to say," said M. Jean-Pierre Delmas, _proviseur_ at Kadic. "However, I know that there is no way you would listen to them. So, instead of reading the nice long speech I prepared for today, I'll simply let you introduce yourselves to our two new exchange students: Eric Champlain from America and Yumi Ishiyama from Japan!"

Yumi looked around the auditorium, her face neutral. Yet another boarding school. Well, it was to be expected—after all, her father's job meant that they had to move around a lot. At least there was another new student—though it looked like he had already established himself with a group of friends. A charismatic, 'popular' kid. Though it seemed to Yumi that he was a bit of a nerd, and then some. What made this kid so different from any other nerd?

She realized that they were heading her way, led by a boy wearing all purple. He reached her first. "Hey, there!" he chirped. "I'm Odd."

"I can tell," she replied.

"Ohh! Odd gets burned!" the American said, then lapsed into English to add something.

"I must say, people rarely get the better of Odd with words," the blond one added. "I'm Jeremie."

"Yumi," she responded simply. "And you?" she asked the dark, tall one. She thought that she saw him blush, just for an instant. No, probably her imagination.

"I'm Ulrich, Ulrich Stern," he replied softly.

"And I'm Eric," the new student chimed in with a grin. "Some say I'm crazy, but what do they know?"

"Maybe nothing, maybe a lot," she answered coolly. Eric grinned again and muttered something in English. Then he turned as another trio approached them.

"Oh, great," Ulrich groaned. Jeremie just shook his head. Even Odd fell silent.

"Um, who or what is that?" Eric asked.

"Well, you got the what part right," Odd said.

"Yeah, what could be this bad?" Yumi added.

"Sissi," Ulrich moaned.

Above the chatter of the crowd around them rose an irritatingly high-pitched voice. "Ulrich! Shame on you for not introducing me to your new friends!" Approaching them was a girl flanked by two boys, one a sandy-haired gorilla, the other a bespectacled nerd. "Allow me to say hello," she said. "I am Elisabeth Delmas, and these are my friends, Nicholas and Herve."

Odd looked startled. "You have friends, Sissi?"

Sissi scowled, and jabbed an accusing finger at Odd. "Yes I do, unlike _some _people. Really, Erwin, why would you want to hang around these three?"

"It's _Eric_," Eric corrected in a low growl. "And as far as _these three_ go, I'm hanging around them because they were polite enough to take an interest in me out of the goodness of their hearts—not because the principal told them to. Now, I'm guessing that you're one of those 'popular' girls America has far too many of." His mouth quirked upwards into a half-smile. "So let me put this in terms that even you'll be able to understand: I will never, not in a million years, be one of your type."

Yumi felt like applauding, before she remembered that Eric was one of the 'popular' kids he had just disparaged. Or didn't he realize it? Perplexing…

"Well, hopefully you're not as disagreeable as your counterpart," Sissi was saying to her. "Now if only you wore something a little brighter. Got rid of all this black."

"I like black," she muttered.

"Yeah, Sissi, knock it off, will you?" Ulrich stood up for her. "Just get out of here, already!"

"Hmph!" Sissi sniffed, turning on her heel with haughty contempt…but not before Yumi noticed a single flash of hurt in her eyes at the rejection. "Well, you're little trio can just—just—oh, who needs you?"

"Um, I'm no genius, but isn't it a quartet?" Odd shouted after her.

"Make that a quintet," Ulrich said, smiling at her, and Yumi felt her cheeks blush. They wanted to be her friends? After thirty seconds?

Maybe this new school wouldn't be so bad after all.


	3. Foam

Kadic Dorm A, Room 37, 11:45

"Man! I'm starving!" Eric exclaimed. "Moving across the globe sure works up an appetite!"

"I'm somewhat hungry myself," Jeremie added, looking up from his laptop. "And it's brussel sprouts today."

"Eugh," Eric said, screwing up his face in distaste. "You _like_ those things?"

"Um, Eric, didn't you put syrup in your milk today at breakfast?" Odd chimed in from the hallway.

"Agh! Odd's catlike reflexes and stealth claim another victim!" Eric said, blushing. "And yes, I did. I found that one out at a _cabane du sucre_ (A/N: I think that's how it's spelled in French…it's been a while) up in Quebec. You should try it."

"Well, I'm almost ready to go," Jeremie said. "Just let me close this program…"

All of a sudden, sparks flew from Jeremie's computer and laptop, catching fire to the bed and curtains.

"_Sacre merde!_" Eric shouted.

"Jeez, Eric, that's some strong language," Odd nagged while trying to smother the fire.

Jeremie looked at his computer's screen. There was an odd red symbol on it, almost like an eye. Eric peered out the window. "It's happening all over the campus!" he shouted. From the distance, he saw a bright white light, rippling and passing over everything. "Hey, what's going on?" He felt a burst of nausea as the foam—

_Oh my god it's Wheeler foam but that's impossible_

pass over him, and he fell into nothingness.

Kadic Dorm A, Room 37, 11:45

"Man! I'm starving!" Eric exclaimed. "Moving across the globe sure works up an appetite!"

"I'm somewhat hungry myself," Jeremie added, looking up from his laptop. He frowned. "That's odd."

"Aww, how did you know?" Odd's voice floated through from the hallway.

"No, I just had this odd sense of _déjà vu_," Jeremie explained. "Oh, well. It's probably nothing."

"Yeah, those types of things are just your brain firing randomly," Eric said. For an instant, a though crossed his mind unbidden—

_Wheeler foam it was Wheeler foam_

but dismissed it easily, catching up to the others. "Say, guys. Have you ever tried putting syrup in your milk?"


	4. Physics for Dummies

Room 203, Ms. Hertz's Physics 101 Course, 12:12

"Well, class, I'm glad that you've all chosen Physics as your science elective this year. Now, who has taken any kind of advanced science course before?" Ms. Hertz asked. Eric raised his hand, along with Jeremie and Herb. "Well, that's certainly good that you've done something like this before. Now, Herb, what course did you take?"

"Advanced Intro to Physics," Herb replied smugly.

"And, you, Jeremie?"

"BASIC and C+ Computer Engineering," Jeremie said.

"And lastly, our new student, Eric. What did you take, dear?"

"General Unification and Superstring Theory, with emphasis on how it relates to quantum theory."

Ms. Hertz was flabbergasted. Herb and Jeremie were also stunned. "And, uh...you understood the course?"

"Well, some parts were confusing," Eric confessed. Herb looked triumphant at this admission. "Like remembering the Planck unit and the antideuterium particles." Herb reverted to his stunned, enraged look.

Odd leaned over to talk to Ulrich. "Do you understand any of what they're talking about?"

"Not a clue," Ulrich replied. "Hey, look at Herb. He's got a new rival." Indeed, Herb was barely controlling his fury that some new student could upstage him.

"Well, we're starting off the year with astronomy," Ms. Hertz said. "So Idon't think that we'll do much with quantum theory. Now, if you'll open your textbooks to page twelve, you'll see a map of our solar system. We're going to start off with the sun. Can anyone tell me what fuels our sun?"

Herb, Jeremie and Eric all raised their hands at the same time. "Go ahead, Herb," Ms. Hertz said.

"It's an elemental reaction within the core," Herb said. "A...uh...fission reaction."

"Not quite, Herb. Do you know, Jeremie?"

"Well, it's a simple process of compressed hydrogen atoms being fused into helium," Jeremie said. "So it would be _fusion_, not fission, Herb." Herb scowled openly at Jeremie.

"Don't forget about the photonic pathway," Eric added. "All the energy the sun gives off across the spectrum—gamma rays, UV rays, ordinary light, infrared—all go through a lot of interference as they make their way through the sun's corona, losing energy."

"Which keeps harmful radiation from causing carcinogenic reactions," Jeremie completed. "Along with the protective influence of the Earth's ozone layer, it keeps live as we know it alive."

Odd and Ulrich sat there, watching Eric and Jeremie finish each other's sentences as they described the sun's inner workings in great detail. Odd nudged Ulrich. "Lemme see your notes."

"This is what I've got," Ulrich said. On the paper, he had written: _Eric + Jeremie brain 3 x Herb brain >Ulrich brain >Odd brain_. "What about you?"

Sheepishly, Odd showed him his notes: _Eric walking dictionary Jeremie walking computer Herb walking piece of crap_.

Ulrich sighed. "It's going to be a long year."


	5. GORP

Kadic Cafeteria, 12:31

"Time to brave yet another sampling of nutritious glop dispensed by drones wearing hair nets," Eric stated as the gang neared the cafeteria.

"No, today is Brussels sprouts," Jeremie informed him.

Eric and Odd both grimaced. "Can I have the glop instead?" Ulrich asked.

Eric staked out a table while the others entered the cafeteria line. He was once again aware of the curious stares pointed at him. On the spur of the moment, he decided that this was the best time to find which other students spoke English. He wouldn't get a better chance.

"Hey, so what's with Jim? Was he just _born_ mad? And that bandage. Like there's really a cut there. Man, I'd laugh if some kid just walked up to him and ripped it off." A few of the older students chuckled as they heard what he said. Eric tried to remember their faces. If he had to go a whole year without talking to someone in English, he'd go insane.

At that point, the rest of the group arrived, carrying trays heaped with sprouts. "Eugh," Eric said, wrinkling his nose.

As it happened, Sissi was walking by at that point. "Overcome by jealousy, Erin? Trying to insult me so I won't understand?"

Odd laughed. "When we insult you, Sissi, you'll know it. In fact—" He bent over his tray, seized by inspiration. Squirting condiments onto an empty tray and using it like a palette, he smeared ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, and other ingredients across his sprouts. Holding up the tray for his audience's critique, he revealed his masterpiece—a dripping caricature of Sissi.

Seething in anger, Sissi swatted the tray away onto the table. "Someday, you'll figure out that you're wasted among these freaks, Ulrich. After all, no other girl here is as beautiful as me."

"No…no, I guess not," Ulrich said, feigning surprise. "In fact, I'd say no other girl on the planet has looks quite like yours." Sissi basked in his praise, only to hear his next line: "No one is _that_ ugly."

Spinning on her heel, Sissi marched off, followed by Herb and Nicholas, but she wasn't fast enough for Eric to miss the tears brimming in her eyes brought on by Ulrich's rejection.

Odd broke the awkward silence that followed. "Say, Eric. What exactly are you going to eat?"

Eric grinned mischievously. "Well, you remember how heavy my bags were, right?"

Ulrich smiled ruefully, and Odd winced. "Yep."

Eric smirked. "Well, carefully packed into one of them was a month's supply of GORP."

"GORP?" Yumi asked. "That's not French, is it?"

"No," he replied. "It stands for Good Ol' Raisins and Peanuts. Trail mix, in other words."

Still, the blank looks persisted. "What, you don't have trail mix here?"

"Nooo," Ulrich said, while Yumi, Odd, and Jeremie shook their heads.

Eric sighed, pulling out a bag of assorted nuts, raisins, and M&Ms, scooping out a handful. "This is trail mix. I had this bag on the plane over." He chomped down on the handful, then screwed up his face. "Aww, man, this bag is stale. Oh, well, it's good bird food."

"Well, we've got some time," Yumi said. "Enough to throw around some granola."

"Sounds like a plan," Ulrich said. "Odd? Jeremie?"

Odd shrugged. "Why not?"

Jeremie shook his head. "I've got some work to do. I'm going back to my room."

"Eric watched Jeremie as he left. "He's a lonely guy, huh?"

Odd nodded. "His parents are loaded, but they don't always spend a lot of time with him."

They're nice people, but always working," Ulrich added. "He's also an only child."

"If only there was someone we could set him up with," Yumi mused.

Eric stood to go. "Well, time to support the local ecosystem."

"We've got an hour," Ulrich said. "Let's not waste it."

Sissi took out all of her rage and frustration on the closest objects at hand, namely anything breakable in her room. Glaringly, unashamedly pink, it made Odd seem positively plain by comparison.

"Why does Ulrich ignore me?" she sobbed into her pillow. "It's that stupid goth new girl. I saw how they looked at each other," she ranted to the air. "I'd like it if someone messed her up good."

Nicholas and Herb waited outside Sissi's closed door, but because of the soundproofing (installed after her first crying jag), all they could hear was the last sentence.

Nicholas turned to Herb. "Is that supposed to be what she wants me to do?"

"No, Nicholas, it's obvious that I, the weaker one, am supposed to beat someone up!" Herb said sarcastically. "Of course she does! Snap to it! And get rid of that smart-ass Eric while you're at it." Nicholas plodded ponderously down the hall, cracking his knuckles menacingly. Herb watched him go, and waited for Sissi to emerge. Once Nicholas had finished, he would be able to bask in her presence again. Secure in his fantasies, Herb prepared for the long wait ahead.

"So, what kind of kid were you like at your old school?" Yumi asked Eric as they neared the parklike lane within the school's campus.

"Well, this may be hard to believe, but up until January, I was seen as somewhat of a nerd," Eric revealed.

"No way! I'm shocked! How could they?" Odd said.

"I don't get it, Odd," Eric replied, grinning. "But it all changed when I went to the 'Night on the Town' dance that year. Turned me around. People saw this spastic little kid dancing, and they actually paid attention to him more in school. It was weird."

"And that's why you're popular now," Yumi finished.

Eric looked at her in shock. "What are you talking about? Popular? No, I'm _not_ a Sissi. Believe me."

Yumi was nonplussed. Here he was again, denying that...that _charisma_ he had. Was he truly oblivious to it?

Then again, that charisma was only evident half the time. The other half, he could be the most annoying person Yumi had ever met. _Maybe he's schizo_, she thought to herself.

"Well, if it worked for you, maybe it'll work for Jeremie," Ulrich said. "There's a 'Welcome Back' type of dance on Friday."

"Anything to get a rise out of Einstein," Odd chirped.

It was at that moment that Nicholas stepped out in front of them. Cracking his knuckles ominously, he lunged at Yumi. Ulrich blocked his ungainly thrust, and twisted his arm backwards. Nicholas flipped Ulrich over his back, and flailed towards Yumi again. He was completely caught by surprise when one of her combat boots caught him in the stomach, driving him backwards into a tree. Winded, he swung wildly at her, almost clipping her temple, when Ulrich leaped into action again and Yumi's heart skipped a beat. What was up with him? Pitting himself against a kid who outweighed him by at least twenty pounds?

Ulrich glared menacingly at Nicholas. "Touch any of us again and I'll make you regret it," he scowled.

Nicholas rubbed his sore arm where Ulrich had twisted it. "So where're the two nerds?" he asked.

Yumi looked around. Odd had managed to stay out of the fight, but where was Eric? On the grass a few feet away, there lay a bag of granola. But where could he be?

As if sensing their confusion, Eric spoke up from the tree branch he was perched on. "I prefer the term 'mad genius,'" he said, swinging from the branch to kick Nicholas directly in the face. He toppled to the ground with a thud, out cold from the full force of Eric's 98-pound weakling body propelling him backwards.

Grabbing the bag, Eric dumped the granola across his body. "Let's see what he looks like next period after he's fed the birds."

Laughing under his breath, Odd slapped Eric on the back. "Man, you have one twisted sense of humor."

As they walked back to the building, Eric looked across the skyline. "So what's that building with the bridge, anyway?"

"That's where the old Renault factory used to be," Ulrich said. "The new one's in a different city now."

Eric frowned, trying to remember some detail connected to the building. He had a feeling it had something to do with foam...


	6. Sleeping In

Dorm Block A, 9:51 AM

Distantly, Eric could hear a droning noise. A long, drawn-out tone...kinda like a bell...

_Oh, crap—the bell!_

Hurriedly, he leaped out of bed, pulling on an orange shirt and the baggy jeans lying next to his bed. Spritzing his hair with water from a spray bottle, he dragged a comb through it once and applied liberal amounts of gel, freezing it into short spikes. As he laced up his sneakers, he stole a glance at the clock.

"Let's see...time for math," he muttered, rushing out into the hallway and snagging his bag on the fly. "Room 201 A." He managed to find the correct building and floor after asking a younger student named Milly for directions (and watching her face turn red from the shock of an older student actually speak to her), but as he was about to find the room, he saw Nicholas at the other end of the hall. Their eyes locked, and Nicholas let out a savage growl.

Eric gulped and doubled back on his path, skidding around a corner at top speed. He spied what looked like a janitor's closet. Launching himself into it, he almost toppled down the flight of stairs the door concealed.

"Who puts stairs in a janitor's closet?" he asked the air idiotically. He could hear the pounding of Nicholas coming after him and swung the door closed, punching the small button that locked it.

The obedient part of his brain told him to get back to class, ASAP. The logical part of his brain told him that this part of the school was probably off-limits for students, and probably for a reason.

Eric told obedience and logic to take a long walk off a short pier and started down the stairs.

Room 201 A, 10:01 AM

"And Mr. Champlain was still asleep when you left for breakfast, Mr. Belpois?"

"Yes, Dr. Percoucou," Jeremie replied.

"Hmm. Probably jet lag. Well, we'll excuse him for it this once, but next time, I'll expect punctuality. And that goes for all of you. Now, class, a polyhedron is made up of..."

Odd scribbled a note furiously and passed it to Jeremie. _Where 'mad genius?' _Jeremie shrugged. "Can't you use real sentences?" he hissed. "Perhaps he got lost."

"Hopefully Nicholas isn't still mad about yesterday," Ulrich replied softly. "He seemed mad for some reason about Eric's little trick. I don't know why you could get mad with a dozen pigeons over you." Odd snickered at the memory.

"Well, I don't think that he's dumb enough to leave the campus," Jeremier said. "Even Nicholas wouldn't risk trouble with Sissi's dad."

"I can't believe I was dumb enough to leave the campus," Eric said to himself as he edged along the sewer walkway. "What was I thinking?" Ahead, in the murky darkness, a crescent of sunlight glimmered where the pipe opened onto the river. There was also an access ladder, which Eric managed to clamber up onto. He struggled with the heavy manhole covering the exit, forcing it aside enough to squirm out and onto the bridge it was positioned on. In front of him was the factory he had noticed yesterday.

"Well, in for a penny, in for a pound," he sighed, walking towards the large double doors. He pushed and struggled with the doors, finally opening one enough to slip inside. It opened onto a platform that overlooked the factory floor. It was discouragingly bare. All the machinery had been taken out, leaving a wide, dusty floor. One discordant element, however, pervaded the abandoned-building _milieu_: an acrid, burnt ozone smell reminiscent of the aftermath of a lightning strike.

"Creepy," Eric muttered to himself. As far as he could see, there was no way down from here. A lone support girder bridged the ceiling, but offered no possible descent.

"I'm going to need rope," he said. "Lots of rope."

Ms. Hertz's Room, 10:49

"Is Eric back yet?" Odd whispered to Ulrich as Ms. Hertz began roll call.

"I see Jeremie, but our other genius isn't here," Ulrich replied. "Wait a minute...yeah, there he is, coming in now." Eric dashed into class, sliding across the tile floor to land in his seat at Jeremie's lab table just as Ms. Hertz called his name.

"Present!" he gasped.

"Did someone just wake up, Mr. Champlain?" she quipped dryly.

"Uh, yes, ma'am," he said quickly. "That's what it was. You know, jet lag and all."

Ulrich looked at Eric sharply. It was obvious—to him, at least—that Eric was lying. Why?

Beside him, Odd was scribbling a note to Jeremie. He showed it to Jeremie, who looked back at him, completely baffled. Ulrich looked over. Odd had written _Why Eric has sewer shoes?_ He looked perplexedly at Odd. "Sewer shoes?" he mouthed.

A tap on the window distracted him. It was Yumi, standing outside looking lost. Ulrich opened the window a crack.

"How do I get to 505 B?" she asked.

Ulrich glanced at Ms. Hertz, who was discussing the atom and the Bohr model, and Jeremie and Eric, who were interjecting bits about quarks and Dirac's model. Satisfied that the class was sufficiently distracted, he wrote down the directions for Yumi. "Thanks," she said, smiling at him. "You're a lifesaver." Suddenly Ulrich wanted nothing more than to do something to make her smile that way at him again. As she turned to leave, he called back at her. "Hey, Yumi. Are you...um...well, are you going to this dance that Eric plans on dragging Jeremie to?"

"Maybe," she said. "Um...are you going?"

"I, uh, I guess so," he said, blushing like mad.

"Cool," she said, turning an interesting shade of maroon herself. "Well...see you."

"Yeah," he said to himself as she left. He turned back to Odd, who had been poking him with a pencil the entire time. "What?" he hissed. Odd pointed at Eric's shoes. Vans, an odd choice since Eric was certainly _not_ a skateboarder. Then he deciphered Odd's note. On the soles of Eric's shoes were trace bits of sewage. Ulrich stared at them, growing more and more confused. What on Earth was going on here?


	7. Chapter 7

Kadic Cafeteria, 12:00 NOON

They confronted him about it at lunch. Just beforehand, Ulrich instructed Odd, Jeremie, and Yumi how they were to go about it. "Remember, too obvious and he'll clam up. Be _subtle_."

"So, Eric, where did you get sewer goop on your shoes from?" Odd said brightly as they sat around Eric. Ulrich winced and clutched his forehead.

"From a sewer, of course. Where else?" Eric answered, deadpan.

"Feel like a more definitive answer?" Jeremie asked.

"Yeah, we know it wasn't 'jet lag' that made you late," Yumi added.

"Weeell..." Eric deliberated. "You're half right. It _was_ the jet lag that made me oversleep, but it was technically Nicholas who made me miss math."

"I should have guessed," Ulrich said. "Nicholas doesn't have the best sense of humor."

"But you seem to have all your limbs, unless those are just remarkable prosthetics," Yumi added. "So I'm going to guess that you avoided him somehow."

Eric's eyes glowed. "Did I ever."

"Sounds like there's a story here," Odd chirped. "Wanna share it?"

Eric looked around the lunch room for eavesdroppers. "Can you keep a secret?"

"So there's a secret passage from Kadic to the old factory?" Yumi asked.

"And you have to go through the sewers to get there?" Odd added.

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up," Eric confirmed. "Now, if we're going to get down from that platform I told you about, we're going to need rope."

"Um, are you sure there's no ground floor entrance?" Jeremie queried nervously.

"Aw, you scared of heights, Jeremie?" Odd mocked.

"Yes," Jeremie said gloomily, his face turning an ashen shade.

"Well, you could check the sewers for another way in," Odd said.

"Odd, do you have a sewer hang-up?" Yumi asked.

"There's rope in the garden shed," Ulrich interrupted. "I saw it during gym with Jim."

"So there's the rope," Eric said. "I say we get into the shed after dark and bring it to the factory."

Ulrich pointed out the plan's flaws. "First, the shed's locked. Second, it took you all period to get there and back. We'll have to be faster."

"Got a skateboard?" Eric asked. Odd and Ulrich nodded.

"I've...got a scooter," Jeremie said hesitantly, as if confessing to a crime.

"And I can get my hands on a skateboard," Yumi said.

"Perfect," Eric said.

"And the lock?" Ulrich asked.

"You're persistent, aren't you?" Odd stated.

"I'm sure one of us can pick a lock," Eric said. "We're smart, right? How hard can it be?"

"I can't believe this is so freakin' hard," Eric said. "They make it look so easy in the movies." A pile of broken paper clips and hair pins next to him attested to the lock's strength.

"You want me to try?" Eric challenged. "This baby's a Krom. No way you're getting into that with a few wiggles and twists—"

Ulrich snatched the pin from Eric, twisted it deftly, and the door popped open. "You were saying?" he asked pointedly. For once in his life, Eric was speechless. Ulrich darted inside and began rummaging around for the rope. "This had better be worth it," he warned Eric. "I don't feel like getting expelled over some abandoned factory."

"As they say Down Under, no worries, mate," Eric said. "All we have to do is get into the sewers."

"Isn't the passage inside?" Odd asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"The building's locked. There's no way to get there!" Odd exclaimed.

"_Au contraire, mes amis_," Eric said. "There's a conveniently placed manhole in the park on campus. Jeremie and Yumi are waiting for us there," he continued. "Any further objections?"

"I'm all out," Odd said.

"Good," Ulrich said. "Now let's get out of here before Jim comes by."

Eric pulled and tugged on the iron manhole cover, but to no avail. Panting, he rested his tired arms for a moment. "It's stuck pretty tight."

"Let me try," Ulrich offered. With one swift heave, he lifted the cover and set it next to the hole.

"I was getting there," Eric huffed.

"Mm-hmm. 'Course you were," Ulrich said, declining to comment further. Eric seethed under his breath, but decided to let the matter drop (a rare occurrence). Yumi climbed down the rusty ladder into the depths, reaching the slime-encrusted platform at the bottom. Jeremie tossed her the flashlight, and she flicked it on. In the pale, wan light, she could see the walls dripping with fetid scum of the ages, and the aroma rising from the swift running current was indescribable. After the skateboards and Jeremie's scooter were safely lowered down, Eric pulled aside a piece of corrugated metal hiding a Schwinn bicycle. The gleaming blue and silver paint stood out in the flashlight's circle of brightness.

"You've got a bike?" Odd asked rather dumbly.

Eric rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I got a bike down here through the janitor's closet, Odd. I don't know where it came from, but as far as I can see, its owner's not coming back for it any time soon, so..." he trailed off, his meaning implicit.

"Well, let's get this over with," Ulrich muttered.

"Have a little faith, Ulrich," Eric said, adopting a hurt expression. "Have I ever led you wrong in the past?"

"What past?" he asked.

"Exactly, never. Let's move, people."

They finally reached the factory entrance at quarter of one. Eric turned to his followers. "Here's hte plan. There's no inner brace structure on this support beam running from here to the other side. So, we tie a loose slipknot at this end, using half the rope, lower the other half to the floor, and one of us climbs down. Then the people on the platform tighten the knot so the rope doesn't slide on the beam. Sound good?"

Yumi eyed Eric a bit nervously. "Who gets to slide down the unstable rope?"

"Since this is all my crazy scheme, I guess I 'volunteer,'" Eric said. Ah, well. Could be worse. If it was a tree this tall back home, I'd have to worry about fisher cats."

Odd and Jeremie exchanged puzzled glances at Eric's last remark as he began tying the knot. "Looks stable enough," Ulrich proclaimed. "All the same, be careful."

"Thanks," Eric said. He looped the rope through his belt, cinching it tight so that it would provide friction.

"So, is that supposed to slow your descent?" Jeremie asked, trying vainly to avoid thinking about how high they were.

Eric grinned crazily, his eyes twinkling. "'Descent' is a much gentler term than I would have used." He stood at the edge of the platform. "_Bon voyage_," he said, stepping backwards onto thin air. He quickly disappeared from sight, but they could hear him "Agh...rope burn!" He tumbled to the wide expansive floor, standing up and pulling the rope towards the center of the beam. "All right, tighten it up now!" With the rope secure, all of the others, with the exception of Jeremie, were able to clamber down to the floor.

"I don't smell any ozone," Yumi said, always practical.

"Me, neither," Ulrich said.

"Me, three," Odd added, never one to miss a chance at immaturity.

Eric sighed. "Oh, ye of little faith. Look, there's a freight elevator right there. I know that's where I would put anything big and secret." He pressed the large red button on the exterior, causing the door to rise. Inside was an electronic console, which lit up automatically and requested a password. "Damn," Eric said. "It wants a password to go down."

"Why is there a sticky pad in here?" Odd asked.

Eric turned to him. "Where? Let me see it." He grabbed the pad out of Odd's hands. The top sheet had been ripped off, but he could see the faint indentations from writing of the upper sheet. "Odd, give me a pencil." Wordlessly, Odd handed him one, and Eric rubbed furiously on the blank sticky. Words began to appear in reverse, white on black. They formed a column, with all but the last one crossed out. "'Kadic,'" Eric read. "Curiouser and curiouser." He typed in the code, and the display dimmed for a moment, then, the door dropped in front of them and they began to descend.


	8. Courage and Cowards

**RavenTheAzarathean**: Well, time to feed the hungry overseas...(and you forgot to actually accept/decline the staff invitation! I got your email though!)

Angels 'N Dreams: Don't worry, in the chapter after this, they'll probably make it in. And, uh, who's Jake? The ACC is _Eric_. 

**K1092000**: Believe me, you stick around anything related to me, and the weirdness kinda rubs off onto you...you'll forget what normal is...

Jeremie was getting more frantic by the second. His friends had been in the old factory's elevator for over ten minutes. He had three options: Swing down on the rope. Find another entrance. Or abandon his friends.

But if they were in trouble, then someone back at school would need to be told. Like Jim. Jim looked dumb, but he had a sharp eye and soft spot for his students' safety. But Jeremie wasn't ready to give up yet. Not now.

He climbed back down into the sewer mouth, looking across at the opposite shore. It looked like there was another door at the floor level, accessible only by a rusted ladder on the edge of the bridge. Then, he heard running footsteps above him. He looked up at the manhole to see Eric descending at breakneck speed. "Move! Move!" he said. Odd was right behind him, going as fast as he could.

"What's going on?" Jeremie asked frantically.

"No questions! Just run!" Eric said. "Yumi and Ulrich should be right behind us."

"And if they're not?" Jeremie asked.

"Um...I'll think of something," Eric mumbled unconvincingly. "We've got to get away from that factory, though!"

"Excuse me?" Jeremie said, stopping where he was. "We're running?"

"Yes, we're running!" Eric snapped. "Problem with that?"

"I'm not leaving Ulrich and Yumi behind," Jeremie said.

"I told you, they're probably right behind us!" Eric retorted.

"Or not!" Jeremie shouted back. "What if they're _not_?"

Eric looked torn between his fear of whatever was back there and his loyalty to his new friends. Jeremie played his advantage to the hilt. "Why are we running?"

Eric shuddered. "Bodies. Bodies fried and crisped by electricity. Electricity that decided to go after us! We had to get out!"

"Yeah, it could of been us next!" Odd added.

"Maybe it already has been," Jeremie said caustically. "Ulrich and Yumi are _not_ right behind us. We need to go back."

Eric sighed tiredly. "I don't get paid enough for this hero crap."

"You don't get paid, period," Odd said. "But..." he paused. "Jeremie's right." He braced himself against unseen dangers. "I'll go."

Eric winced. "I can't believe I'm doing this, but..." He turned to Jeremie. "Go get help. Jim, Sissi, anyone. Me and Odd will try something...I don't know what, but something." He turned around, back to the ladder. "I guess we're heroes, Odd. If we live."

Ulrich hung resolutely on the rope, just below Yumi. Below them, the floor crackled dangerously with electricity. "This is insane!" he gasped. "Where did Eric run to?"

"I don't know," Yumi said. "He seemed okay, but he just...deserted us."

"Maybe he's got a reason," Ulrich said half-heartedly.

Yumi snorted. "Like saving his own skin." Then, as if to rebuke her for her own unfaithful words, she heard footsteps outside.

"Don't come in!" they both shouted. Odd and Eric screeched to a halt just outside the metal platform. A large, fat spark crackled just in front of Odd's shoes, emphasizing the danger they had come so close to.

"God," Eric said in hushed tones. "We almost just bought the farm."

"What farm?" Odd asked.

"Never mind!" Yumi said. "Just...just figure something out with that fat head of yours!"

Eric's hand flew to his forehead self-consciously. "I don't have a fat head!"

"Shut up and get moving!" Ulrich said. "My hands are slipping!"

Eric paced back and forth on the bridge. "Well, we've got some rope left over..."

"It's not long enough to do anything with," Yumi pointed out.

"Don't be so quick to deny the possibilities inherent in any object," Eric said pedantically.

Odd groaned. "My brain hurts."

Eric snapped his fingers suddenly. "I got it! Odd, tie a slipknot with the rope."

"What'll that do?" Ulrich asked pessimistically. Above him, Yumi slipped another inch down the rope.

"Brain boy...I can't hold on much longer..." Yumi gasped as she slid downwards, onto Ulrich's shoulders, pushing him as well.

"Ulrich, I'll throw you the rope, and you loop it around your wrist and cinch it tight. Odd and I will pull you two onto the bridge without touching the platform."

"The rope's going to cut off circulation to his hand, Eric," Odd argued nervously.

"He'll lose more than his hand if we don't get them out of here," Eric growled. "We can't afford to wait for Jeremie. Call him on his cell phone and tell him—"

"No...cell phones allowed...on campus," Ulrich grunted as he slid another foot. "Just go!"

Eric wound the end of the rope under his elbow and slung the loop over to Ulrich. He freed up one hand and grabbed the loop, but as he did so, Yumi began to fall as his weight, which had supported her, shifted to a new position. She tumbled towards the floor, and Ulrich let go with both hands to grab her forearm. Suddenly, he found himself dangling upside down, supported only by the slipknot and his legs around the rope. Cords stood out in his arms as he held onto Yumi's wrist with a grip like steel. "Pull already!" he shouted through clenched teeth.

"Sheesh," Eric muttered as he pulled the rope backwards. The two teens tumbled back onto the bridge between Odd and Eric. "Let's go back to school before Jeremie gets someone to come looking for us."

It was a close shave, but Eric managed to tip off Jeremie just before he woke Jim. The two regrouped back at their room, and Jeremie was able to hook Eric's cell phone up to his laptop, so they could talk to Ulrich and Odd between rooms.

"You screwed up big time, Eric," Ulrich opened without preamble.

"Gee, you think?" Eric said despondently. "I kinda figured that out."

"Hey, I screwed up too," Odd whined into the phone. "Don't forget about me!"

"Oh, we won't," Ulrich hissed. "I don't believe you, Eric. Firstly, there was nothing worth risking our lives over. Secondly, we were almost killed for nothing. Oh, and thirdly, we almost DIED!"

"You do know, Ulrich, that those are all the same point," Jeremie said, taking the mike from Eric.

"And you're wrong about there being nothing there, Ulrich," Eric added. "Primarily, the name of our esteemed academy is the password into the factory. Secondarily, there were roasted bodies all about the lower level there. And tertiarily—"

"Uh, that's not a word, Eric," Jeremie interjected.

"—the electricity wasn't active until we arrived. It _chased_ us."

"But what's it all mean?" Odd asked.

"I really wish I knew," Eric said.


	9. Dark Depths

Kadic Cafeteria, 12:02

"OK, new plan," Eric told Odd, Ulrich, and Jeremie at lunch. "Apparently there's no ground entrance, Jeremie, so you stay here and keep us informed through your computer. I'll have my phone."

"How does that even work here?" Ulrich asked. "You've _got_ to be getting nailed with roaming charges."

"Nokia TracPhone," Eric said, twirling the slim phone and slipping it into an imaginary holster. "Any tower, anywhere."

"I take it you decided on this new plan while I was at my house, sneaking back in to avoid my parents?" Yumi asked as she joined them.

"No, Eric received inspiration in a dream and now that's our plan," Odd cracked.

"So how do we avoid the lethal electricity?" Ulrich asked.

Eric pulled out a water pistol from his bag. "With these."

Ulrich looked at the gun skeptically. "What's that going to do?"

"Enough water on the metal floor—" Eric began to explain.

"Will create a massive short circuit, stopping the flow of electricity," Jeremie finished. Eric twirled the pistol on his finger, slipping it into an imaginary holster. "As Eric said, I've patched his phone into my computer, so I'll let you know when you've passed the point of no return."

"Let's go, then!" Odd said. "I'm ready."

"Same here," Eric said.

Ulrich fixed them with a hangdog look. "Oh, let's see. Why don't we go back to the place where we _almost died?_"

"Calm down, Ulrich," Eric said. "What could go wrong?"

"See? Now we can take a look at all the neat computer junk down here," Eric said at the factory.

"How will we see anything? The room's filled with smoke," Ulrich complained.

"Ah, it'll fade away dramatically around our feet," Odd said.

"Too much TV for you, Odd," Yumi retorted. Odd pouted. Unfortunately for Yumi, the air vents below their feet quickly and efficiently sucked out the smoke, causing it to do exactly what Odd said. "Crap," Yumi muttered.

Eric stared at the marvel of technology before him. Three shining pillars of glossy metal and circuitry stared back. Bundles of long, thick tubes snaked their way upwards, branching out like the limbs of some cyberkinetic tree.

"Eric, you're drooling," Yumi said dryly.

"Yeah, what's so great about three weird tubes, anyways?" Odd asked.

"It's what they do, Odd," Eric answered, in awe of the power and potential in front of him. "If I'm right..." he stopped. "It's not possible. But if I'm right...if it's what I think it is..."

"What? If what's true?" Ulrich barked. Eric darted back into the elevator.

"Stay here," he said. "I've gotta check something." The door closed, and he descended deeper into the depths of the factory.

"He's going to where we found the B-O-D-Y-S," Odd said in a whisper.

"What? What are you trying to spell, man?" Ulrich asked him.

"B-O-D-I-E-S," Yumi corrected. Then she realized what she had said. "You never mentioned that little fact while Ulrich and I waited in the elevator."

"Me and Eric didn't think it was that big of a deal," Odd muttered sheepishly.

"That big of a deal! You little runt! I'll..." Whatever she would do was cut off as Eric's voice floated up through the ducts.

"Guys! I think you should come here. You should probably see this for yourselves."

"Now what?" Ulrich sighed.

Yes, yes, a very short chapter I know. But, that's the way it goes! This is more of a transitory chapter anyways. The good stuff happens later...


End file.
